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BY MAE SINGUAY
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BACOLOD City – Public school teachers are lamenting the non-release of their emergency cost of living allowance (Ecola).
They are now in a “silent protest,” according to Councilor Renecito Novero.
Novero said he learned about the teachers’ concerns when he met with Gualberto Dajao, president of the Bacolod City Public School Teachers Federation and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers in Negros.
Dajao claimed they have not received three quarters’ worth of Ecola, said the chairman of the Sangguniang Panlungsod committee on education.
The teachers want to know if there is still a chance for their Ecola to be released, especially since 2016 city government books already closed.
They also want Mario Espaniola, a Management and Accounting Services Office auditor, assigned to another office. He allegedly humiliated them when they followed up about their Ecola, Novero said.
Mayor Evelio Leonardia promised that the teachers’ Ecola will be released, while City Accountant Corazon Cardel assured that their payroll has been “obligated” (funding ready for use), Novero said.
But Dajao would have none of it. He accused Espaniola of delaying the release. He claimed the auditor believes the Ecola is “illegal.”
Each public school teacher gets a P2,000 Ecola a month: P700 from the Special Education Fund (SEF) and P1,300 from the general fund, Dajao said. They wondered why they stopped receiving it in June 2016.
Espaniola explained that only public school teachers hired in 1997 and earlier are qualified for the P2,000 Ecola. The auditor cited a court order issued during the Oscar Verdeflor administration.
Teachers hired in 1998 and later are not entitled to the Ecola from the SEF, only the P1,300 from the general fund, he said, citing an Audit Observation Memorandum from the Commission on Audit.
Espaniola advised the public school teachers to classify their payrolls.
The easier he could identify who deserves what Ecola, the faster he could sign the payrolls, said the auditor.
Espaniola also denied the claim that he humiliated the teachers./PN
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